The Dog And The Rabbit
by momoxtoshiro
Summary: A lonely Winter night and no one to spend it with...well, that's how it was a FIRST but...


**My second IzuMero fic! I lurve them! I wrote this in the Wintertime so everything is snowy :3 Enjoy the fluff!!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Full Moon o Sagashite. If I did, the anime would not have ended that way and Izumi would not be evil! (But we all know he's not! It's all lies! He's so sweet in the manga!!) And if I owned it, there'd be a lot more IzuMero action. But obviously and sadly I am not Arina Tanemura andI'llstoptalkingnowenjoy!**

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The Dog And The Rabbit

A lone snowflake fluttered down to the white ground below, like a tiny stained-glass piece.

Meroko Yui sighed with a smile on her face from where she sat on a tree branch, watching the beginnings of the snowfall. The night sky was dark with violet, and the moon was sliced into the shape of a cat's claw. Moonlight cut through the dead branches of the trees and formed swaying shadows on the blankets of snow below.

Meroko just loved nights like these; though a bit chilly at times, it was wonderfully peaceful and tranquil, not to mention absolutely gorgeous. She gazed up at the sky from where she sat on a tree branch as the clouds began to seemingly burst, sending lazy showers of white fluff falling down to the Earth below.

Meroko's sharp rabbit hearing picked up the sound of wings fluttering behind her and she turned her head, seeking some curious bird or something of the like, but nothing was behind her. Blinking in slight confusion, she turned her head back to continue her guilty pleasure.

But instead of a vast, snowy forest, she was met with the sight of pale, dusty gold, irises.

"Hey." Izumi said flatly.

With a gasp and a squeak of surprise, Meroko leaned backward away from his face which was only millimeters away from her own. Her weight was lost over the branch she sat on, and gravity had its way as she tumbled back and fell onto the ground, landing in a pile of white powder.

"Oops." Izumi blinked from where he hovered above the ground, staring down at the slumped form of his partner in a tangle of long pink hair and long furry ears amongst the snow. He floated down and landed on his feet beside her. Meroko looked up at him past the screen of hair covering her teary eyes from where she lay, winded, on her back.

"Ow…" She wheezed painfully.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you so bad." Izumi reached down and grasped her wrist, gently pulling her up to her feet.

"So you still meant to scare me then, huh?" Meroko glowered at him, rubbing the back of her neck as she unruffled her wings. She reached down to pick up her fallen top hat and placed it back where it belonged. "What do you want, Izumi? I was enjoying myself out here." She pouted cutely.

"I heard you leave." He replied simply, letting go of her wrist. "Don't rabbits hibernate in Winter?" he asked with a smirk. Meroko just raised her chin indigently with a 'hmph!' and unfolded her wings to fly up and return to her branch.

"It's nice out here." Was all the female Shinigami whispered.

"Have you been doing this every night?" Izumi flew up beside her, blocking her view of the snowy world. "No wonder you've been so tired lately! You're going to get sick if you spend the nights _outside _and _don't sleep_! Especially in that outfit!" he scolded, glaring at her usual attire.

"And who was it that _gave _me this attire?" She asked with a bit of a smirk. Izumi was silent for a moment.

"So you won't come back inside then?" Izumi asked, glancing back over his shoulder at the hotel they, Takuto and Mitsuki were currently occupying.

"Nope." She huffed, crossing her arms, lifting her chin and making it absolutely clear to him that she was staying put.

"Fine." The boy sighed. "I won't force you." Shrugging, he flew nearer to her. "Well then, I'm staying out here with you. Move over."

If Meroko's heart had still been beating, she knew it would have skipped at his suggestion.

"F-Fine." She scooted over to make room for him. Izumi squeezed in beside her, but his extra weight immediately made the branch tremble. Both of the Shinigamis' animal ears pricked straight into the air and they blinked once at each other before the huge snapping noise broke the silence of the snowy night. There was no time to think or unfurl their wings, only enough time for a brief yelp of surprise.

The next moment, there was a broken tree branch lying in the snow, and several feet away were two Shinigami with the breath knocked out of them. The two formed a plus shape, with Meroko lying on top of Izumi, their stomachs crushed together. Meroko cracked open one eye slowly, and then the other, panting with difficulty.

"Hey." Izumi's clipped voice came from underneath her. "Mind getting off?"

"Oh! S…Sorry!" she wheezed, scrambling off of him to sit in the snow. Izumi winced when he sat up and she gave him a bashful look with her gorgeous, rosy eyes.

"Let's try that again." He suggested. Meroko nodded.

Together, they slowly flew up and circled the tree, seeking out a more durable perch. Eventually they found one a little lower down that let them both settle comfortably.

The branches above their heads shielded them from the flurrying snow, and the wind was not too harsh that night. The moonlight washed everything in pale, icy blue, reflecting off the snow and causing everything to appear many times brighter than it really was. The two sat in calm silence for a time, gazing out at the lovely snow drifting on by. One flake in particular slipped between the branches and landed on the fuzzy tip of Meroko's ear and made her shiver down to her toes. Izumi grinned with smug amusement and pointed to his hat, which covered his ears fully, while his partner pouted.

The moon had crept to the center of the sky before long, and that was when Izumi started to feel tired. But he stole a glance at Meroko to see that she was hardly affected at all. _I guess she's used to it since she does this every night_. He reasoned. But Izumi was determined not to let his dreariness show so he straightened up.

Yet after a few more moments, he decided to give in, but when he spoke, he tried to sound casual and drain all fatigue from his voice. "You're not tired yet?" he asked.

"Not really. But _you_ are?" she guessed; now she was wearing the smirk.

_Damn._ "Yeah, a bit." Izumi lied; actually, he was just about to fall right off the branch.

"You can go back then. I'll be okay." She flicked his stubby ear with her extended one.

"No, I won't leave you." He declared. Meroko rolled her eyes.

"You still don't think I can take care of myself." She sighed. There was a small pause.

"I just thought…it'd be nice if you weren't all alone out here for once."

His words took her by surprise and her ears pricked once again. She opened her mouth to reply, but quickly noticed that he had fallen asleep, and was sagging forward. As swiftly as the animal she took after, Meroko reached forward and caught him in her arms, the branch swaying a bit with her movements.

"I-Izumi!" she hissed with a little gasp. He stirred and lifted his head.

"Hm?"

"I-I…You just-…just be more careful about where you fall asleep." She sighed.

"Fine." He responded. Carefully, he shifted closer to her and rested his head on her shoulder and for the first time ever, Meroko felt almost glad that her heart was no longer beating, for if it was, she would have been extremely self-conscious and bashful.

Izumi sat closet to the truck of the tree, so she had less support. So she was stiff at first, but the gradually relaxed and wrapped her arms around him, holding him close and never wanting to let him go.

Meroko did not feel tired until some time afterward, but she did not have the heart to wake her partner. So she battled the demons of sleep until it was just about unbearable, but she felt too exhausted to move, let alone fly. But just as she felt as though she wound topple over any second, Izumi stirred beside her and blinked open his eyes; the pale blue moonlight mixed with his golden irises made them seem tinted slightly green up close.

"Finally! You're awake." Meroko breathed, suddenly feeling light-headed.

"Here," Izumi straightened up, a refreshed shine in his eyes after his rest. "Your turn." He said cooly, motioning for her to lean on him. Meroko blinked, trying to clear her blurred vision, and cautiously moved closer to him. He leaned back against the trunk of the tree and Meroko shyly pressed against him, letting her wings fold limply at her back. He wrapped one arm around back and placed his hand on her waist and she rested her cheek on his shoulder.

She felt a bit jealous of the clothing on his shoulders and shivered uncomfortably in the cold. Izumi wrapped his other arm around her, rubbing his warm hands over the exposed skin on her arms and waist. Shinigami could not feel the heat as much as they could feel the cold, obviously, since Takuto once went running around in a jacket and scarf in the Summer. So Izumi wanted to keep her as warm as possible, because even though she did not let on, he knew she appreciated him being there at that moment.

Meroko snuggled nearer to him until they were so close he could hear her soft breath. Her ears drooped slightly and one brushed against his nose, making him stifle a sneeze.

"Sweet dreams." He murmured to her, though he was not sure if she could hear him. She was out like a light within minutes and Izumi contented himself with watching her sleep, all curled up just like a real rabbit, hardly able to contain his smile.

She only slept lightly and for about half an hour, so he was surprised when she woke up after such a small amount of sleep, raising her head slowly to meet his eyes, were he could see the glaze over her irises. "Still tired?" he asked.

"A bit." She mumbled.

"Me too, but I don't want to go back to the hotel now."

"Me…neither." She agreed around a yawn.

"Do you think you can just make it to the ground?"

"I think so."

Drowsily, the two Shinigami stretched their wings and clumsily fluttered down to the ground, where they laid down on their backs underneath the tree, staring up at the sky through the bare branches, but the snow did not feel too cold. The flurries had lightened up a bit, and Izumi blinked when one landed right on his eye. Meroko let her mouth hang open a bit, giggling a bit as one flake landed on her tongue.

They then watched the white puffs of their breath float up into the night sky before disappearing. Meroko huffed as much air as her lungs allowed and created a huge white cloud that Izumi could not help but be a bit amazed at. And then he burst out laughing when she tried it again and the air hitched in her throat.

"You're…so mean to me…sometimes." She hacked with a bit of a good-natured smile.

"Sorry._ You're_ just too cute sometimes." He admitted.

"So you think it's cute when I nearly choke to death?" she clarified.

"Yes, exactly." He answered sarcastically. Meroko giggled again before she became sleepy once more. Rolling onto her side to face him, she voiced her thoughts.

"I'm getting tired again."

"Yeah, same here." He too rolled onto his side, embracing her tightly and drawing her closer, gently knocking her top hat off and resting his chin atop her head.

There was a moment of silence as he watched her breath rise up in small clouds. He then kissed her hair, and even though she was used to his shows of affection, every time he did so she felt those warm, fuzzy butterflies fluttering in her stomach. "I love you, Meroko." He murmured.

She _was_ just like a real rabbit, not only the adorable way that she slept, but also her swift, sharp instincts, and her perky, happy, yet frisky attitude, though she could also become quite protective. She could hold her ground in a battle and was smart enough to know when to retreat. But she also enjoyed the moments like this, curled up in his warmth and in his presence. Not to mention her adorable pink eyes, long ears and cottonball tail.

"Love you too. 109." She whispered, counting dreamily the times she had confessed, with that cute, bunny-like smile on her face, her eyes closed.

He was also just like his animal: warm, very loyal and protective, and lovable.

Very, very lovable.

She shivered again unconsciously, and Izumi hugged her tight.

"Rabbits are supposed to be hibernating." he scolded softly.

"And dogs are supposed to be sleeping." she mumbled back.

"Well too bad," he buried his nose in her hair. "I'm guarding my treasure."

"And I've got too much stuff to do." Meroko replied, nestling closer still, resting her head in the crook of his neck. Her long hair covering her arms and keeping them warm; but his embrace was _much _warmer.

"Stuff? Like what?" Izumi closed his eyes now.

"Stuff like telling you how much I love you."

"Oh."

"110."

"Right." He chuckled. "Come on now, let's get some sleep."

"Kay…" her voice trailed off into a slight yawn before she fell silent.

Izumi listened to her soft breathing, feeling her body rise and fall gently beside him.

Then, he let himself drift off to sleep with her, and together they slept, under the falling snow; The Dog And The Rabbit.

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**A/N: Hm. My last IzuMero fic ended similarly, all curled up and snuggling and cute and fluffy. Maybe it was because it was because around midnight when I finished writing both of them each time together I can speaks inglish well XD Oh typos...**

**~*IzuMero4ever!!*~**

**Please review!!**


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